17 Months!

You know how when you have an older baby or a toddler, people at the grocery store (at least in the south) always say things like “Awww…is she just gettin’ into everything?” My answer during Mer’s 17th month is a resounding YES.

She IS into everything—and she’s everywhere—all at once. I consider myself a fairly spry, active person, but the little elf outsmarts me at every turn. I constantly find myself spinning on my heels to see where she’s gone. Sometimes she’s right behind me. Sometimes she’s headed for the highway, thumb out.

In her calmer moments, Meredith has some activities that she enjoys that don’t involve sprinting away from me. Top of the list is towel folding (thank heaven for those Lareau genes). She can spend 30-45 minutes with a hand towel or washcloth. She folds it. She smooths it. She waves it in the breeze. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. For a LONG time.


Another activity, this one common to many precious toddlers, is that of removing items from their proper place of storage. Box of wipes? Cleaned that out for ya mom. Container of paper clips? It’s easier to find them if you spread them out on the carpet! Brand new box of 100 baggies? I’ve relocated those to the kitchen floor. To her credit, she often returns some of the items to their original containers. Thanks, Mer.


Finally, I’ll mention her obsession with clasps of all sorts. Here she is pictured with her beloved helmet. (Great Grandma Poo purchased this jewel to protect her noggin from the terra cotta floors in Cali). Mer doesn’t wear the helmet all that often, but putting the chin clasp together is one of her very favorite games.




Finally, we’ll say goodbye with a pic of Meredith helping with the moving. It’s an ongoing process with lots left to do, but she pitches in when she can, and keeps the rest of us motivated.